Chapter 3The 300-Day Streak

I stood up, grabbed my suitcase, and walked out of the restaurant.

In Austin, one cold rain is all it takes to signal winter. I pulled my hoodie tighter, walking aimlessly.

A shop down the street had a long line. It was that specialty bakery, the one that made the jalapeño-cheddar kolaches I loved.

I remembered back in high school, freezing in my uniform, muttering to my desk-mate, "God, I'm craving one of those kolaches from 'The Czech Stop'. But they're only good warm."

My friend tossed me a granola bar. "Eat this. You can get one next year."

But Evan, sitting behind me, had heard.

Before our last class, a small paper bag was on my desk, steam fogging the plastic.

Evan didn't even look up from his textbook. "I was in the neighborhood. Eat it while it's hot."

That night, when the class rankings were posted, I was still one spot ahead of him.

My desk-mate joked, "Evan, you let her beat you again? If I were you, I'd have poisoned her kolache."

He'd laughed, but his eyes, when they met mine, were serious. "I'm not here to compete with her."

Before graduation, we made a pact: we'd both go to college in Boston. I got in early with a full-ride scholarship. He was supposed to fight his way in through regular admission.

Fate had other plans. He was waitlisted, then rejected. He ended up in Texas.

The day my parents drove me to the airport, they were fine. He was the one crying.

"You're going to meet someone smarter at Harvard and forget me, aren't you? Maya, I'll work so hard, I promise."

I hugged him. "Never."

The day I said yes to him, I was promising to hold his hand through every season, for the rest of our lives.

Sophomore year, I flew from Boston to Austin as a Christmas surprise. I had his friends trick him into going to the campus square. When he saw me jump out of a giant gift-wrapped box, he just... stared. For a full minute.

"Maya, we're going to get married, right? I just... I really, really want a home with you. I want to see you every day."

...

The memories played back, one after another.

Just yesterday, I had declined my advisor’s offer to join his new research firm in Boston.

I couldn't bear the thought of Evan being alone anymore.

I just didn't realize he hadn't been alone for a long time.